Aberdovey Golf Club has undergone a dramatic rebirth in the past three years, thanks to the efforts of the greenkeeping staff. Deputy Head Greenkeeper, Rhys Butler goes ...
Back to nature! A
berdovey Golf Club, winner of the Welsh regional section at the 2009 Golf Environment Awards, has
undergone a dramatic rebirth in the last three years, returning to its traditional links landscape and preserving important habitats. The challenge was to achieve this on a Site of Specific Scientific Interest to the satisfaction of the Countryside Council for Wales, whilst retaining the attraction of the course for members and to the holidaymakers that flock to the area in summer. The renovation began in January 2009, with the main changes being to reshape the bunkers to provide a natural, rugged, rustic links-like appearance that seamlessly integrated into the surrounding landforms. Another task was to break up some of the runway-style tees which were alien to the surrounding natural environment.
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“These were broken up into individual tees and the land around shaped to blend into the surrounding environment,” explains Deputy Head Greenkeeper, Rhys Butler. Architect John Kemp, of Islander Golf, was appointed, producing the drawings and reports that were presented to the ‘green’ sub-committee and the course management staff. “The work was carried out in-house, with John Kemp on site,” explains Rhys. “The greenkeeping staff were split into two teams - one to carry on with the general course maintenance and the other team to proceed with the course changes.”
In the first phase, from January to
March 2009, seven new bunkers were constructed and forty-three reshaped. Out of date bunkers were filled and sympathetically shaped, and the
positioning of others was altered. Work continued in the winter of 2009-10 with the construction of a further newly positioned bunker and nineteen others reshaped, the work being carried out in- house by the greenkeeping staff. The club’s membership had been highly vocal on course design in the past, even rejecting alterations to championship standard made by James Braid, so getting them on side was vital, as Rhys explains: “The decisions were made by the greens sub-committee and all proposed changes were available for members to see, either by being posted on the club website or by drawings that were available for all to view in the clubhouse. John Kemp also hosted a walk/talk around the course for members, so that they could see and understand any change or redesign of the golf course.”
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